Chapter 331: Poisonous Dragon Saliva

"My woman, I thought she was always obedient and treated me wonderfully. I gave her whatever she wanted," Dong Rui said coldly. "Later, I felt something was off with her, but when I asked, she wouldn't say. Then one day, while I was dead drunk, she poured the most potent poison from the pharmacy down my throat!"

He stroked his chin and sneered, "Women, heh heh, women!"

He Lingchuan put his hand on the wine jar. "You can't skip the details; your story isn't logical. Why would she poison you out of nowhere?"

"She had a lover outside, the son of another tusi. He was fair-skinned and delicate, a pretty boy just like you," Dong Rui said with a laugh. "I sent the Ghost Ape to tear her lover into pieces and eat him. She cried for two days, but then didn't say anything, so I thought she had come to her senses."

He Lingchuan touched his own cheek. With all the exposure to wind and sun every day, could he still be called a pretty boy?

But even just looking at Dong Rui's features, the word "handsome" didn't fit him. He probably considered any man with regular features a pretty boy.

"What happened next? Did you kill her?"

"No." Dong Rui took two more gulps of wine, looking dejected. "She ran out crying and jumped off a cliff herself. Don't you think she's sick?"

He Lingchuan patted his shoulder. "She and you, you're not meant to be."

You two just weren't meant to be together.

At that moment, their vision was suddenly blocked by an enormous black shadow.

Madam Zhu'er emerged.

"Wine?"

It seemed she had come attracted by the scent.

He Lingchuan took out another jar from his storage ring. "Do you want some?"

Madam Zhu'er didn't wait for him to break the clay seal; she simply plunged her proboscis in and drank. With her ability to suck a full-grown person dry in one gulp, finishing a jar of wine took her only two or three breaths.

"Any more?"

"Another one."

In a blink, she had consumed four jars of He Lingchuan's fine wine. When she asked for more, He Lingchuan spread his hands.

"That's all; I don't have any more."

Both were surprised that the giant spider was so fond of wine. However, wine is a broom for sorrow, and after drinking, Madam Zhu'er was noticeably much more amicable. She even let out a burp: "Good wine, quite potent, better than what the merchants bring."

"Merchants?" He Lingchuan was slightly surprised. "There are merchants here?"

"Did you think this place was cut off from the world?" Madam Zhu'er chuckled. "Your human merchants come once a month to collect spider silk."

Right. The silk of the cave spiders was exceptionally strong. And Madam Zhu'er's craftsmanship surpassed that of the most skilled human weavers, producing cloud brocade that was light as a feather yet stronger than iron.

With just a few casual words, He Lingchuan's eyes lit up.

Over the past few days, Madam Zhu'er had also sought him out to chat, mostly making small talk about things like the changes in the State of Yuan over the years, the He family's affairs, and He Lingchuan's relationship with Dong Rui.

She seemed particularly interested in the State of Beijia, but unfortunately, He Lingchuan knew little about it.

He Lingchuan also wanted to extract some information from her, but Madam Zhu'er, being an experienced great demon, kept her lips sealed.

Although they seemed to be chatting pleasantly, it was purely talk, without any genuine connection.

Nor would it stop Madam Zhu'er from simply devouring him whole if she ever grew tired of him.

He Lingchuan didn't ask when the merchants would next come to the swamp, nor did he let Dong Rui ask. Instead, he casually changed the subject:

"What's wrong with the State of Beijia? Why aren't you willing to stay there?"

The Northern Demon Nation's reputation was renowned, and having stood for nearly six hundred years, it was almost the longest-lived empire in the world. Demons everywhere yearned to go there, so why did Madam Zhu'er leave after visiting?

He Lingchuan recalled that the Crocodile God had also left the State of Beijia, as had Hong Chenglüe, who preferred to retire to Xia Province with his wife and and live in poverty.

Why was this?

"You'd know if you went there. It's all glitter on the outside, but a mess on the inside!" Madam Zhu'er sneered. "What kind of demon nation is it, when they have to humble themselves and be cautiously respectful toward humans? In ancient times, demon immortals reigned supreme in their own domains, and commoners were like ants—eaten if they pleased, used if they pleased. Where were all these restrictive rules we have now!"

He Lingchuan and Dong Rui exchanged glances. For Madam Zhu'er, they were probably also expendable, to be "eaten if she pleased, used if she pleased," right?

As an ancient being, Madam Zhu'er naturally yearned for the golden age of the great demons.

However, times had changed, and her philosophy no longer aligned with the current demon nation. Staying forcibly in Beijia would likely cause trouble.

But Madam Zhu'er immediately continued, "Those in high positions are quite good to humans, but dishonest towards demons! I hadn't been in Beijia for two months when something important was stolen from me!" She sneered repeatedly as she spoke.

Both asked what she had lost, but Madam Zhu'er refused to say more.

He Lingchuan seemed to realize something.

Could it be her demon immortal's exuviae? The largest and oldest of the six.

He changed his approach. "Did you get it back later?"

"They flat-out denied it," Madam Zhu'er said. "Their family holds a high position in the State of Beijia, with numerous subordinates, and they are protected by primal energy. They thought a country bumpkin demon like me couldn't do anything to them!"

He Lingchuan thought to himself, *If you had a way, would you have hidden in this desolate Demon Lair Swamp?*

According to Madam Zhu'er, she had left her cultivation within the exuviae. This meant the demon immortal's exuviae contained the deepest cultivation.

If that was the case, it wasn't surprising that the other party would seize the treasure and not return it.

"I was so angry, I wounded and killed several of their juniors!" Madam Zhu'er thumped the ground. "Beijia sent troops to capture me, so I came here."

He Lingchuan let out a long "Oh." "So you want a method to counter primal energy, then go back to Beijia and reclaim your treasure?"

Madam Zhu'er said grimly, "What they rely on is nothing more than Beijia's primal energy for protection. As long as I eliminate this trouble, I will have a way to deal with them."

He Lingchuan noticed she used the words "have a way" rather than implying it would be easy. Clearly, even without their protective primal energy, the opponents were not to be trifled with.

High-ranking and powerful, then?

Furthermore, Madam Zhu'er, an ancient great demon who had lived for two or three millennia, was far more cunning than she let on. It was difficult to discern how much truth or falsehood lay in her words.

Madam Zhu'er then asked Dong Rui, "What's the progress on my potion?"

"I have good news and bad news. Which do you want to hear first?"

Madam Zhu'er didn't hesitate. "The good news."

He Lingchuan frantically winked at Dong Rui from the side, but Dong Rui ignored him. Madam Zhu'er, however, saw it and scoffed, "Are your eyes twitching?"

She had twelve eyes; trying to hide his expression from her was a joke!

Dong Rui took a gulp of wine. "We tried on over thirty spider demons, and one succeeded. The success rate is incredibly high, clearly your offspring, Madam Zhu'er, have inherited excellent bloodlines, purer than ordinary demons."

All the spider demons here were considered Madam Zhu'er's direct descendants, a lineage pure enough to look down on the mixed bloodlines of ordinary demons.

That's why the demonization rate of her descendants was astonishingly high.

"Only one success out of over thirty tries? You call that high?" Madam Zhu'er was too lazy to mock him further. "So when can I use it?"

"That's the bad news," Dong Rui sighed. "The medicine I can make with the materials I have on hand probably won't meet your requirements."

He Lingchuan rubbed his temples.

"So, it can't be done?" Madam Zhu'er, who had been resting with her legs tucked under her and her belly on the ground, stood up, rising like a small mountain.

Both looked up at her; the spider demon's proboscis looked especially menacing in the moonlight.

Dong Rui dared to bring this up now because he had already prepared his follow-up: "I only said the materials aren't enough, not that I can't make it! My drifting to the Demon Lair Swamp was an accident. How could I possibly find all the necessary materials in such a remote place?"

Dong Rui looked at Madam Zhu'er, neither humble nor arrogant. "You were once a demon immortal's body, forged through a thousand refinements. Trying to induce a mutation with a potion is like trying to poison this rock." He kicked a large stone in front of him. "It's not impossible, but it requires a much stronger medicine to disrupt your body's stability!"

"Which one?"

"Dragon's Saliva."

Madam Zhu'er immediately extended her head in front of Dong Rui, her proboscis hissing. "You actually want to use Dragon's Saliva against me?"

Seeing her enraged, He Lingchuan quickly intervened to ease the tension. "Does Dragon's Saliva really still exist?"

There were no more dragons in the world, so where would Dragon's Saliva come from?

"Doesn't exist?" Dong Rui raised his face, almost looking down his nose at him. "Look at my face. This is the effect of Dragon's Saliva diluted a thousand times! Only one drop was used, one drop!"

Staring at it too long would surely lead to nightmares at night, so He Lingchuan quickly turned his head away.

Dong Rui then turned to Madam Zhu'er. "To be honest with you, even if you get the Dragon's Saliva, even if the medicine is prepared, and even if it works after you take it, the pain you'll feel will be purgatorial! Are you really willing to pay such a price for a treasure?"

Madam Zhu'er's twelve eyes stared at him, seemingly judging the truthfulness of his words.

Dong Rui was not to be outdone, looking up to meet her gaze.

This fellow was truly bold, even when just starting out. He Lingchuan felt a surge of admiration.

After a long pause, Madam Zhu'er said in a sinister tone, "Are you intentionally bringing up this medicine because you know the Dragon's Saliva is hidden in Beijia's capital?"

She couldn't fight against primal energy, which was why she left Beijia. But the most important medicine that could help her counter primal energy was hidden in Beijia.

If she had the ability to go straight into Beijia and seize the Dragon's Saliva, why wouldn't she just reclaim her demon immortal exuviae at the same time?

If she could reclaim her exuviae, why would she need to consume Dragon's Saliva?

This was truly a paradox.

Seeing her aura gradually turn violent, He Lingchuan quickly intervened. "You don't have to go yourself. Couldn't you just find someone to steal the Dragon's Saliva, or your treasure? It's not like the Dragon's Saliva and your... your treasure are both kept by the same family, are they?"

"Who would I send?" Madam Zhu'er snorted. "You two?"

"If you can't find anyone else, we can," He Lingchuan said, patting his chest. "No problem."

Dong Rui immediately added, "I have a personal amnesty decree from State Preceptor Frostleaf of Beijia, allowing me to travel freely throughout the State of Beijia."

Madam Zhu'er burst into laughter, shaking the leaves from the trees above. "You think you can make me let you go with such petty tricks?"

She turned and began climbing towards the top of the sinkhole. "Stay here quietly. If you don't make the potion within thirty days, I'll swallow you both alive!"

"Hey!" He Lingchuan protested. "He's the one who can't make the potion, why would you swallow me?"